Mark Teacher’s Free Weekly IELTS Newsletter
Week 8: Laughter
IELTS Warm-up Questions: Laughter
Warm-up Questions:
- In English there is a saying: “Laughter is the best medicine.” Would you agree?
- Who are some funny celebrities in your country?
- What kinds of things make you laugh?
- In English, when we are typing on a computer or a phone, people write ‘lol’ (laugh out loud) to show that something is funny. What do you type in your language? (555 / kkkk / jajaja etc.)
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I’ve chosen this week’s topic of Laughter because we’re going to continue talking about Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test.
In Part 2 of the IELTS Speaking test, the examiner will give you a cue card.
The cue cards are usually about 1 of 5 different topics:
- Describe a person ← We’re going to talk about this one.
- Describe an experience / situation
- Describe an object / thing / item / product
- Describe a future dream or wish
- Describe a place
In this week’s newsletter, you will learn a few different ways to describe people.
Watch the video below to see a full-length Part 2 example answer about a person who made me laugh. So in my answer, I talk about my sister.
If you want to download the transcript for this Sample Answer – you can download it here: LaughterNewsletterPart2.doc
IELTS Grammar Lesson
Let’s look at some of the language, grammar and sentence patterns I used in this video to describe a my sister and the memories I have of her.
In my example answer, I used 3 different language patterns to describe my memories of me and my sister. Let’s look through them.
I remember + [subj. pronoun] + past verb
This is the most basic way to talk about your memories. ‘I remember’.
You can use this form to talk about past events, past experiences and moments.
In my answer, I said: “I remember even at dinner we couldn’t keep straight faces”.
I remember + [obj. pronoun] + verb-ing
However, if you want to focus more on the specific actions and activities you did in the past, you can use this construction.
In my answer, I said: “I also remember us playing in the garden together, running around and having imaginary adventures and pretending to be different characters.”
Notice how every verb uses +ing?
You keep using the +ing form on the following verbs as well.
- I remember us + playing .. running .. having .. pretending.
Any action that take place within the same time frame should use a +ing ending.
What do you remember doing with your brothers and sisters?
Causative Verbs – [Subj. + makes me + adjective / verb]
In my example answer, I also said:
- “She made me laugh so much”
This is an example of a Causative Verb in the Past Simple. What does causative mean exactly?
- “One agent (person or thing) is causing an action in another agent.”
In other words, Causative Verbs describe how something or someone affects or changes you or your feelings (in both positive or negative ways).
Causative Verbs can affect you physically:
- Chopping onions makes me cry.
- Dust makes me sneeze.
Causative Verbs can also affect you emotionally:
- Traffic makes me angry.
- History makes me bored.
You can also use Causative Verbs in the Past Tense:
Present: She makes me laugh every time we hang out.
Past: She made me laugh all the time when we were kids.
In my IELTS Speaking eBook, you can find 3 more causative, in their Present, Past and Perfect form and learn how to use them.
I would + verb
The third and final way to talk about your memories is to use would + bare infinitive verb
‘Would’ implies that you ‘would always’ or ‘would often’ do something. So if you did something in the past very often or frequently, ‘would’ is the correct choice.
So because my sister often made laugh, I said: “With her, my sides would hurt after spending time with my sister.”
! Bonus Combo !
Guess what? You can use ‘I remember that…’ at the beginning of the sentence and combine it with would with the bare infinitive, or ‘I remember…’ with a gerund (verb+ing)!
- I remember that we would go to the beach in the morning.
- I remember she would try and make me laugh when we were in the car.
If you enjoyed this extract, these lessons were taken exactly from TESTED – Proven IELTS Speaking Methods, which is my 300-page IELTS Speaking eBook. So if you found this approach to learning useful, then there are hundreds more pages of examples, explanations, controlled practice activities (plus an audiobook version) right here!
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IELTS Vocabulary and Levelled Reading
Read these 3 levels of about ‘Laughter’. Every level becomes more difficult but every level has the same meaning. The new words are highlighted, so if you don’t understand a word in Level 2, look back at Level 1 to find the easier synonym! This is a great way to learn new vocabulary!
Level 1: Beginner Level 2: Intermediate Level 3: Advanced
IELTS Question #1: What kinds of things make you laugh?
- Level 1: There are lots of things that make me laugh. I like sit-coms because they are full of silly jokes and one-liners. I also like stand-up comedy. England has a lot of funny comedians who tell funny jokes and use their intelligence to make jokes about everything from politics to celebrities. So those are some funny things that I enjoy.
- Level 2: There are lots of things that make me laugh. I’m a big fan of sit-coms because they are full of silly gags and one-liners. I also like stand-up comedy. England has a huge number of funny comedians who tell side-splitting jokes and use their wit to make jokes about everything from politics to celebrities. So those are some funny things that I enjoy.
- Level 3: There are lots of things that make me laugh. I’m a big fan of sit-coms because they are packed with silly gags and one-liners. I’m also really into stand-up comedy. England has a huge number of hilarious comedians who deliver side-splitting joke and use their razor-sharp wit to make light of everything from politics to celebrities. So those are some funny things that I enjoy.
IELTS Question #2: Do you think it’s important for people to laugh?
- Level 1: Yes, absolutely. There’s a saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’, and I believe that laughter has a lot of health benefits. I’ve heard that laughing can help you live longer and help you recover from illnesses. I think that makes sense, because laughing releases chemicals in your brain which can give you energy and make you feel calmer. On top of that, every time you laugh you use your stomach muscles so in that sense it’s a little bit of exercise every time, which is probably healthy too!
- Level 2: Yes, absolutely. There’s a saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ and I believe that laughter has a lot of healing qualities. I’ve heard that laughing can help you live longer and aid your recovery from illnesses. I think that makes sense, because laughing releases chemicals in your brain which can cheer you up and make you feel calmer. On top of that, every time you laugh, you use your stomach muscles, so in that sense it’s a little bit of exercise every time, which is probably healthy too!
- Level 3: Yes, absolutely. There’s a saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ and I believe that laughter has a whole host of healing qualities. I’ve heard that laughing can help prolong your life and aid your recovery from illnesses. I think that makes sense, because laughing releases endorphins in your brain which can cheer you up and calm you down. On top of that, every time you laugh, you use your abdominal muscles, so in that sense it’s a little bit of exercise every time, which is probably healthy too!
Links and Resources
You can find even more IELTS-appropriate vocabulary, collocations and phrases about Laughter here:
- http://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=laugh
- http://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=laughter
This article about the Benefits of Laugter has lots of great collocations, phrases and IELTS that would be perfect for an IELTS Speaking Test!
IELTS Practice Questions
Putting it all together:
Try these Part 1 IELTS Questions all about Laughter!
Part 1 Questions
- What kinds of things make children laugh?
- What kinds of things make you laugh?
- Do you like making other people laugh?
- Do you think it’s important for people to laugh?
- Is laughing the same as feeling happy?
Part 2 Questions
- Describe a time when a child made you laugh. You should say:
- Who the child is
- What the child did
- When and where it was
And say why you laughed at it.
- Describe a person who made you laugh when you were a child. You should say:
- Who this person was
- What this person did to make you laugh
- Why this person made you laugh
And how you felt about it
- Describe a film or TV program that made you laugh. You should say:
-
- What the program is
- When you watched it
- Who you watched it with
And say why it made you laugh
Part 3 Questions
- What do you think are the benefits of laughter?
- Are there differences between what makes men and women laugh?
- Why do children like to laugh?
- Is laughing beneficial to children, how about old people?
- What do you do when you feel sad?
- What kinds of things do people in your country do to be happy?
- Do you think adults are more likely to be happy than children?